Nothing Ever Ends
by FanWriterWV
Summary: Finished! The conclusion of a three-part series. The Watchmen go after Adrian Veidt in the finale.


_**Nothing Ever Ends**_

_Somewhere over the American Midwest; 1987_

They were all together on the Owlship for the first time, the original Watchmen-Blake and Rorschach, returned from the dead; his wife, Laurie, no longer looking absurd in her new Silk Spectre costume. And he, Nite Owl II, was flying them towards what could be their final mission.

Was this all part of Manhattan's plan? Having exiled himself to another galaxy, had he wanted Veidt exposed after all?

To keep himself focused, Dan Dreiberg had Archie run a flight diagnostic on autopilot while he joined the others in Archie's rear quarters. It was a little cramped with all four of them on board, but none of them seemed to mind.

"We'll reach New York in another couple of hours," he informed them. He sighed. "Anybody got any ideas on what to do once we actually get inside Veidt's tower?"

"Make him confess," Rorschach intoned. "Admit his crimes. To us, if not to world."

"You know he's going to be waiting for us," Laurie pointed out.

"What do you know about Ozzy's security?" Eddie asked.

"He made some upgrades after the last time I visited him. Some new scanning technology; a missile defense system for his penthouse. The lower levels of the tower are open to the public; they might be less well defended."

"As I remember, old subway tunnel runs near Veidt tower. Could land Owlship there; proceed on bikes like in old days."

"Yeah, good thinking, Rorschach. We really did make a good team back then…so, how much do you remember about how you…came back?"

"Memory actually seems to increase as we get closer to target. Was with Manhattan on Mars, then in other galaxy. Said Miss Juspeczyk-forgive me; Mrs. Hollis-made him realize life mattered. Showed me new species of humanity he had created. Made me think about things. Made me remember why I formed partnership with you. Said he learned much from Veidt about genetics and molecular reassembling. Said if world thought Rorschach dead, Veidt would relax guard, start making mistakes that could send world down warlike path again. Said four of us had to remind him why he became masked adventurer. Never about power, he said. Only responsibility."

"That sounds like Jon, all right." Laurie looked at Blake. "Okay, so what's your story?"

"I'm surprised you even ant to talk to me. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to rip my head off right now."

"Oh, believe me; I wanted to for a long time. But Mom was right. We can't stay angry…if she can learn to forgive, so can I. And…you are my father. You're a part of me that I can't deny."

"Well, I never had any encounter with Doc. Not up close and personal, anyway. It's more like he used my head for an answering machine and let the stuff they pumped into me do the rest. He did say one thing-'Nothing ever ends.' Didn't know what the hell it meant at the time."

"Hmm. Adrian said Jon told him the same thing, right before he left." Dan stood up. "We'll reach Manhattan soon. Better strap yourselves in for a landing."

"We should come in at low angle, to avoid detection," Rorschach noted.

"There's no need. Along with a few other upgrades, I had a stealth cloaking device installed in Archie after Laurie and I moved to L.A. It bends light so that Archie will look invisible. Too bad I didn't have time to do the same thing for us."

Eddie grunted. "Ozzy will probably still know we're coming by now, anyway." He could see the tip of lower Manhattan Island through Archie's "Eyes". "You'd better get up front, Dan, looks like it's almost showtime."

Showtime, Dan thought, Yeah, right. He tried not to think about what Veidt might have in store for them when they made their grand entrance as he piloted Archie towards the streets. The cloak was working; nobody so much as looked up as they landed behind one of the rebuilt buildings and quietly made their way towards the aforementioned tunnel.

_Veidt's Headquarters, Penthouse Level_

Well, Adrian thought as he watched his monitors. It looks like my old friends are right on schedule. He had to give Dan credit; the combination of his intelligence and Rorschach's tactical skills did make them a formidable team. He was just so disappointed they were all on the wrong side…

He touched a button on his desk. "Omar? Our guests will be arriving shortly. Is everything prepared?"

"Yes, Mr. Veidt. The machine is on standby. Field strength is estimated at eighty per cent and rising rapidly."

"Good. I'll be there directly. Veidt out." Once more into the breach, dear friends, he thought. And, unlike Jon, the others _weren't _indestructible…

_Veidt Lab, Main Station_

"Okay, Owl Man, where to now?" Blake chomped on his cigar as he aimed his rifle at the surrounding equipment.

Dan was getting frustrated. "I'm not sure. I've never been in this part of the building." He looked around through his night vision goggles; his companions also had copies save for Rorschach, who claimed he hadn't needed any.

"Maybe we should try the elevator shafts? Adrian is probably in his penthouse expecting us." Laurie looked at the two large metal plates that dominated the middle of the lab. "Oh, crap…is that what I think it is?"

"A field generator," Dreiberg nodded. "Looks like a more powerful one than what he used to try and kill Jon with, too."

"So what's he gonna do?" Blake asked. "Try and turn himself into a big, blue Superman?"

"Not quite." The clear, powerful voice of Adrian Veidt answered him. As if on cue, the lights came on. Dan and the others quickly removed their goggles while Rorschach immediately assumed a defensive posture.

Adrian clapped. "Bravo, class. Job well done." He looked at Blake. "I wish I could say it was nice to see you again, Eddie. It appears Jon sent everyone he could think of to do his dirty work for him."

"No need for Osterman's influence," Rorschach growled. "Came of own free will."

"You're overdue for an ass-kicking, Ozzy," Blake added.

"There's no need for further violence," Dan said, partly to buy some time, partly because he hoped there was still a part of Adrian that he was capable of reaching. "You can't stop all of us. Surrender now, and we'll try and work something out…"

"No, I don't think so." Adrian looked up at the ceiling. "Computer? Activate Veidt defense program Alpha."

"Acknowledged," a voice replied.

"What the hell is Plan Alpha?" Laurie asked.

Adrian looked at her with that strange mixture of pity and regret he'd shown back in Antarctica. "It will be quick and painless, I assure you," he said.

Even as he spoke, a humming sound filled their ears. Strangely, Dan seemed to recognize what it was…

"Everybody scatter!" he called out. "Take cover, now!"

Bursts of flame came out of hidden jets in the ceiling. As they swept the room, Dan anxiously tried to keep track of his companions who now had their own problems as masked fighters, wearing protective fire-resistant body armor, came down from the ceiling on cables.

"Dreiberg Behind you!" He heard Rorschach call out as he dealt with his own opponent. Dan swung around and caught his attacker in the legs; then flung him into a nearby wall. He ducked another burst of flame and saw Laurie getting tackled by another fighter from behind.

"Laurie!"

"I'm on it!" Blake had already disposed of his attackers by literally cracking their skulls together and went to help his daughter, who was caught in a stranglehold. "Hey! Pick on somebody your own size, asshole!" Blake got the attacker's attention as the man looked around and realized that he was alone. Dan fired a beam at him from the wrist gun he had designed to replace his old weapon while Laurie used the distraction to break free. Eddie did the rest by blowing a hole in the man's chest; the armor-piercing bullets Dan had provided him were all he needed. Eddie ran up to her.

"Honey, are you okay?"

Laurie nodded. "I'll live….thanks." Then she looked up. "Dad! Look out!"

"'Dad?'" Adrian's eyes widened. "Well, that does explain a few things-especially your personality…"

What had gotten Laurie's attention were the spinning drills that were coming down from the ceiling. "How do you like them?" Adrian called out with amusement. "I used them while I was building Karnak. They were resistant to the cold temperature…"

"Dreiberg…" Rorschach crouched as the drills spun downward. "If you have plan…"

Dan frantically looked around. Adrian couldn't have thought of everything…and then he realized that he hadn't. From where he was, Dan could see a steady, unblinking light in the ceiling. That had to be the computer Adrian had spoken to…

"Archie!" he called into his suit communicator. "Target overhead computer! Begin hack!"

"What?" For the first time Adrian looked confused, and then dismayed as the light began to flicker, and then short out. Adrian looked down at Dan with shock and building rage.

"You might be the smartest guy in the world, Adrian-but I'm one of its biggest geeks." In spite of himself, Dan grinned. "And if there's one thing a geek loves, it's computers. Especially their software."

For a moment Adrian looked like he was going to finally lose control. But then he regained his composure. "Very well. We'll do this the old-fashioned way." He leapt from his ledge and began coming down towards them…

"I was hoping you'd do that," Dan said. Before Adrian's feet could tough the ground. Dan fired a cable at them from his wrist gun. Adrian looked down in surprise as his legs became tangled up in hat looked like some kind of thread.

"What in the world…?"

"Just a little idea I got from a guy I know, who used to write for comic books. See, he had this idea for a character that was like a human spider, but it never got off the ground after superhero comics went out of style. It's webbing fluid."

Adrian looked at him, genuine confusion on his face. "But that's not your style…you were inspired by birds…"

"I may look like an owl-but that doesn't mean I always have to think like one." Dan's mood turned serious. "Goodbye, Adrian." He spoke into his communicator one more. "Archie? Have you taken over Adrian's system?"

"Yes, sir," a voice purred.

"Good." He looked at Adrian with the same mixture of pity and regret-but no contempt or hatred for the hero he'd once been. "Activate field generators."

"Dreiberg! No!!!" Adrian's last words echoed as Dan took a deep breath and used the webbing fluid to propel Adrian in between the metal plates. There was a crackle of lightning and a brilliant flash of blue-white light as Adrian Veidt's body was torn apart at the molecular level. They all shielded their eyes from the light until it faded, leaving only a smoky haze behind.

"So that's what the World's Smartest Pap Smear looks like," Blake said.

"How did you know that would work?" Laurie asked.

"To be honest, I didn't." Dan looked at the plates. "But one of Adrian's greatest flaws was that he had started to believe his own hype. When you think you really ARE the smartest man in the world, you don't take into account that somebody smarter could come along."

"So this is it," Rorschach said. "Veidt killed by own technology, but secret stays safe?"

"It has to be that way, Rorschach. But I think you understand that now. Jon is gone, and the world stays safe."

"How are we going to explain what happened?" Laurie asked.

"You let me take care of that," Blake said. "Now that I'm back in business, I'll make a few calls to my old government contacts. They're good at this kind of stuff."

The four of them stood together as they walked out of the building and back towards the waiting Owlship. "You know, I've been thinking," Dan said. "We made a pretty good team back there…"

"You thinking of a permanent gig?" Eddie cocked an eyebrow. "You really do believe in all this do-gooder crap, don't you?"

"We were effective team," Rorschach murmured. "Partnership could lead to new possibilities."

"Well, Mom was part of the original Minutemen," Laurie added. She looked at Blake. "And…it would give us a chance to talk. About her-and a lot of other things. And get to know each other."

Blake looked unusually thoughtful. "Yeah, kid…I'd like that." Then he looked at Dan. "So what do we call ourselves? The New Minutemen?"

"The Minutemen were the product of another time. The world's a different place now-and it'll be even more different with Adrian gone. Better or worse-I don't know. But somebody will have to watch over it. So, we'll still be…the Watchmen."

"The Watchmen?" Eddie looked skeptical at first, but then added, "Yeah, that's got a nice ring to it."

"Manhattan would have approved. Gives us stealth. Good strategy, Daniel." By now they had reached Archie. "We will still need base of operations."

"That's why I think we should go back to L.A." Dan looked at Rorschach. "You could stay here, if you wanted…"

"No. New York has no more need of Rorschach or Kovacs. Besides, was alone for too long already. Would have…missed company."

"Never thought I'd hear you say something like that," Laurie replied. "Okay…so, California here we come?"

Dan nodded. "California…and the future of the Watchmen."

The costumed adventurers all nodded. "The Watchmen," they said in unison.

Then they boarded Archie and began the long trip home.

THE END


End file.
